Cold Open

It’s January 15th, 1967 at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.

Willie Wood breaks from a huddle of teammates and jogs to his position on the football field. Willie is a defensive back for the American football team, the Green Bay Packers. It’s his job to stop his opponents’ receivers from catching the ball, and right now, he’s feeling the pressure.

Today, the Packers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs in football’s first ever World Championship Game—a new end-of-season face-off of two rival football leagues: the National Football League and the American Football League. Willie’s Packers are expected to win by a wide margin, but right now, they have only a narrow lead over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs snap the ball to begin their next play. One of their receivers runs straight past Willie. Willie turns to follow, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Chiefs’ quarterback, Len Dawson, backpedal as his offensive line collapses.

Len passes the football just before he gets tackled, but it’s a bad throw… and Willie intercepts the ball.

Wille sprints down the field, but the Chiefs quickly react.

Willie’s speed keeps him clear for the first ten yards, but then he runs into trouble…

A defender nearly takes him out from behind, but is blocked at the last moment. Willie points urgently, directing his teammates to block further…

He cuts left, narrowly avoiding one tackle… but is forced to reverse midfield as Kansas City shows determination... then Willie flicks straight up the middle, to the fifteen, to the ten, to the five…

Willie Wood is denied his opportunity to score a touchdown by a tenacious Kansas City defender at the five yard line—but his interception changes the momentum of the game that will soon be known as the first “Super Bowl” in American Football history—a heated and contentious contest between two rival organizations, the National Football League and the American Football League. On the very next play after Willie’s interception, the NFL’s Packers will score a touchdown, and then add two more before the clock runs out—proving to many that the more established NFL will always be able to outcompete the upstart AFL—until the New York Jets record the American Football League’s shocking first victory at Super Bowl III on January 12th, 1969.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is January 12th, 1969: The New York Jets Win Super Bowl III.

Act One

It’s December 28th, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York, eight years before the Green Bay Packers will win Super Bowl I. Tension is rising as the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts battle it out to be named champions of the National Football League, or NFL.

26-year-old Lamar Hunt leaps out of his seat in excitement as a player drops the ball at the beginning of overtime, then settles back into his seat as the Giants recover the muffled kickoff. 

But the New Yorkers can’t move the ball down the field and are forced to punt after three plays. Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas takes advantage of this, leading a long drive to score a touchdown and win the NFL Championship.

As fans leave the stadium, they talk excitedly about what they’ve just witnessed—it’s already being hailed as the greatest game ever played. Personally, Lamar has no allegiance to either team and doesn’t really care about the result—but he is caught up in the spectacle of the occasion, and it spurs him to make a life-changing decision.

Lamar is the son of a wealthy oil tycoon—and he watched today’s game from the comfort of a private box, surrounded by the luxury only his father can provide. But he’s still only a recent college graduate, and wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. Until now. Soon after the game, Lamar calls his multimillionaire father with the news that he’s decided on a career. He’s going to run an NFL team in his hometown of Dallas.

Although football is America’s most popular winter sport, there are still large regions of the country without a pro football team. The NFL is still the biggest professional league, but it only has twelve teams—and they’re clustered in the Northeast, Midwest and California. Because of this limited domain, football still lags behind baseball in terms of league wealth.

But after witnessing the NFL Championship Game, Lamar thinks that creating football teams in new markets could be an easy way for both he and the NFL to make money. Over the next six months, Lamar repeatedly contacts the commissioner of the NFL and tries to persuade him to back his plan. He asks the NFL to add a thirteenth team to the league—but existing team owners worry that they’ll oversaturate the market, and veto the plan. So next, Lamar tries to buy the Chicago Cardinals and move them to Dallas—but the other owners deny him that too.

Frustrated by the NFL’s refusal to make a deal with him, Lamar decides to go ahead and form a pro football team in Dallas anyway. And to make sure they have competitive games to play, he also establishes an entirely new pro football league. Lamar reaches out to other rich businessmen, many of whom had also tried to buy their way into the NFL and had been turned down. And soon, eight teams are formed to play in the rival football league. Lamar names his upstart the American Football League, or AFL.

And although the NFL has seen off other rival leagues before, the AFL is a bigger threat. Lamar and the other AFL team owners are prepared to bankroll the league even through early losses. They introduce new innovations to win over fans like adding player names to jerseys and displaying a game clock on scoreboards. These features and more cause fans to flock to the new, more exciting AFL. And college players hoping to turn professional are now given a choice of two professional leagues to join: the long-established NFL, or the increasingly popular AFL.

The tension is palpable on November 28th, 1964 when the NFL and AFL hold their college drafts on the same day. Among the players selected by both leagues is University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath, who’s chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL and the New York Jets of the AFL. The Cardinals assume that Joe will sign with the NFL and try to negotiate his contract demands. But the Jets are happy to spend, and they more than double Joe’s initial salary request. So the day after his final college game, Joe Namath causes a sensation when he signs a contract with the Jets and becomes the highest-profile player yet to choose the AFL over the NFL.

In time, Joe will prove he’s worth every dime. He will become a fan favorite from his first game in New York, and he will end his first season as the AFL Rookie of the Year. But before Joe’s second season begins, fans will be stunned by an unexpected announcement that will alter the pro football landscape forever.

Act Two

It’s June 8th, 1966 in New York, six years after the creation of the American Football League.

Lamar Hunt sits around a conference table surrounded by other pro football team owners. Some are AFL owners, some are NFL owners. But, today, Lamar hopes they can find common ground as they discuss a merger of the two pro football leagues.

Two months ago, the ill-feeling between the rival leagues only increased. Both AFL and NFL teams broke a gentlemen’s agreement by promising better pay to players if they switched leagues. This development has disturbed some team owners who see the poaching of players as detrimental to pro football as a whole and think it’s time to repair relations. So these owners have come together for a secret meeting in New York to discuss how the two leagues can cooperate rather than compete.

After days of secret negotiations, the team owners agree to join forces. And under terms of the merger, the two pro leagues will hold a common draft to stop expensive bidding wars over college prospects. They also agree to distinct regional footprints for each team to prevent competition, with a joint plan to expand with new teams across the country. And although NFL and AFL teams will continue to have separate regular season schedules, they agree to hold an annual World Championship Game featuring the best team from the NFL taking on the best team from the AFL.

Seven months after the shocking announcement of the AFL-NFL merger, the first World Championship Game takes place between the Kansas City Chiefs, who won the AFL Championship, and the Green Bay Packers, who won the NFL Championship.

The match-up is billed as the World Championship, but few fans and pundits expect a close game. Their predictions are proven correct when the Packers record an easy victory. And the following year, the Packers win again, beating the Oakland Raiders in another lopsided contest.

After two easy NFL wins, the merged league reaches a crossroads. Many people think that the NFL teams are too strong for the newer AFL. Some want the end-of-season contest to be abandoned, and for the AFL and NFL to go back to functioning separately. Others view this World Championship as little more than a novelty game, with the earlier NFL Championship Game being the true culmination of the football season.

So in an attempt to maintain media interest in the merged leagues, the third iteration of the World Championship Game is given a revamp. Inspired by college football’s postseason bowl games, Lamar Hunt suggests the pro football World Championship is renamed. His alternative title is adopted, and the next World Championship Game is billed as the Super Bowl.

And the new branding isn't the only difference. For the first time, the reigning champion Green Bay Packers don’t make it to the championship game. Instead, the Baltimore Colts earn the right to play for the NFL. But it doesn’t really matter which team represents the NFL—they’re still overwhelming favorites to beat the AFL champion: the New York Jets.

In the buildup to what's being called Super Bowl III, players from both teams are questioned by reporters. Most are uncomfortable talking to the press and stick to bland and vague statements. But Jets quarterback Joe Namath is happy to talk up his team’s prospects.

NAMATH: "I think we got a heck of a shot of winning. We’ll beat anybody in the world and I think we’re gonna win next Sunday."

Few of the reporters believe Joe, and most media reports write off his team’s chances. Some fans even make fun of Joe’s prediction in person.

Three days before the Super Bowl, at an end-of-season dinner, Joe walks to the podium to deliver a speech of thanks when a fan in the back of the room heckles him, shouting that the Colts are going to kick the Jets’ butt.

After weeks of similar abuse, Joe’s patience snaps. He’s had enough of people dismissing the Jets. So as he steps in front of the microphone, Joe responds to the heckler with a promise, saying: “We’re gonna win the game. I guarantee it.”

Most in the room laugh off Joe’s unlikely prediction, blaming it on the overconsumption of liquor. But reporters will seize upon Joe’s guarantee. As they search for talking points ahead of what’s expected to be a one-sided game, journalists will use Joe’s prophecy as a colorful and entertaining story to fill their columns. But few will foresee the shocking turn of events that’s to come.

Act Three

It’s January 12th, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida; three days after Joe Namath’s guarantee that the New York Jets will win the Super Bowl.

A whistle blows and the New York Jets line up on the the Baltimore Colts’ four yard  line. The stadium seems to grow quiet, as Joe looks up and down the line, then calls for the snap. He takes a quick step back and hands the ball to Jets running back Matt Snell. Then Joe twists away, feigning to still have the ball, and fakes a throw, fooling the Colts defense. By the time Joe looks back upfield, Matt Snell is diving into the end zone. And within five minutes of the second quarter played, the underdog Jets have the first touchdown of Super Bowl III.

Almost as soon as the game began, Joe realized that the Colts were using the same defensive plays they had all year—and he’s used the Colts’ predictability against them. He’s started calling plays at the last moment from the line of scrimmage after seeing how the Colts lined up—and his strategy is helping his teammates find the gaps in the defense.

After the Jets take the lead, Joe sticks to his plan. He rarely throws the ball, and instead uses runners to take advantage of weak points he sees. The relentless ground attack moves the Jets up the field and adds nine more points through field goals. The Colts don’t get on the scoreboard until the final minutes—and by then, it’s too late. 

At the end of the game, the Jets win 16-7, beating the NFL Colts, who were completely outplayed. And thanks to Joe’s clever management of the Jets offense, he’s named the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player.

The Jets victory, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory the next year, prove that the AFL can go toe-to-toe with the NFL, only increasing public interest in competition between the two leagues—so much so that, in 1970, the AFL and NFL will fully combine under the NFL name, and teams in the formerly separate leagues begin to play each other during the regular season too.

Decades of growth will follow the Jets victory in the game that's now known as Super Bowl III. And today, the NFL is the wealthiest sports league in the world, and the Super Bowl one of sport’s biggest spectacles, with 30-second commercial spots costing $7 million each. But the Jets have yet to enjoy another Super Bowl success, having never again competed in the game since Joe Namath fulfilled his unlikely prediction that the Jets would win Super Bowl III on January 12th, 1969.

Outro

Next on History Daily. January 15th, 2009. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger performs an emergency landing on the Hudson River after his plane's engines fail, a maneuver that will come to be known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mischa Stanton.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.